Maryland's state Court of Appeals recently blocked a ballot initiative to overturn a Montgomery County law that would, among other things, give transgendered persons the right to choose which public restroom they will use, regardless of their biological gender.
That "Ruling Inspires New Hope For Transgender People," exulted the Metro section front page* headline for Washington Post staffer Ann Marimow's September 15 story.
Marimow noted the fact that the ballot initiative did clear Maryland's hurdle for making the November ballot, but buried it in paragraph nine, which made the print edition beyond the jump on page B6.:
Story Continues Below Ad ↓Opponents of the law, including some parents and religious groups, gathered more than 25,000 signatures to put the measure to a vote. They worried that the law was written so broadly that it could allow a cross-dressing man, for instance, to gain access to locker rooms at health clubs. They also unsuccessfully tried to add exceptions to the law for hiring by religious institutions and schools. To opponents, the court's decision disenfranchised the thousands of people who signed petitions.
Although there are 25,000 of them in the D.C. area, Marimow failed to quote an opponent of the law and used paragraph 10 to return to the biologically male Allyson Robinson, a transgendered woman (biologically male) she featured in the lede paragraph as welcoming the court ruling because "it means accompanying her young children to public restrooms in Montgomery County without worrying that someone will call the police.":
But for transgender women such as Robinson, the County Council's passage of the law was a key reason she chose to live in Montgomery when she moved to the area this year from Texas to take a job at the Human Rights Campaign, a gay and transgender civil rights organization.
Before settling on a townhouse in Gaithersburg, Robinson and her family sought to rent an apartment. She worried, unnecessarily as it turned out, that the landlord would want to pull out of the lease upon meeting her. Until the law took effect this week, Robinson said, the landlord could have rejected her application because she is a transgender person.
In the past, Robinson has also worried about taking her four young children to public restrooms at restaurants, because she fears that someone will identify her as a transgender woman and call security.
Besides Robinson, Marimow quoted three other people in the story, all of them supportive of the Montgomery County law. One of them is a journalist for NPR's flagship station in Washington, D.C. :
[Colleen] Fay said she hoped the media attention to Montgomery's action -- and the court's decision -- would embolden her county to follow and raise awareness to help demystify transgender people.
"It's invisibility that leads to fears and the icky factor that makes some people react by saying, 'I don't want to deal with that,' " said Fay, arts editor for WAMU radio's Metro Connection, a show she helped launch as Peter Fay in 1995.
In December, when Fay moved back to Maryland from the District after many years, her old driver's license information identified her as male. Fay said she was hassled by a motor vehicle clerk, who refused to change the designation to female.
*The story was below-the-fold on the front page of the District & Maryland Home Edition of the September 15 Washington Post Metro section. I'm not certain where the story, if it appeared at all, was placed in the Metro page of the Virginia Home Edition.
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
it's a beavis and butthead
September 15, 2008 - 12:45 ET by TruthMongerit's a beavis and butthead dream come true
Journalism is the opium of the liberals
I don't think Beavis and
September 15, 2008 - 13:53 ET by stratmanI don't think Beavis and Butthead would be for transgendered dudes in ladies' bathrooms.
On second thought, B&B would dress up like girls to peep in ladies' bathrooms. Well, probably Beavis.
why dress
September 15, 2008 - 14:16 ET by TruthMongerwhy dress up...?
heh-heh-heh
heh-heh-heh
heh-heh-heh
I am afraid for all of Maryland's children.
September 15, 2008 - 12:53 ET by c5thenThis is going to make it sooooo much easier for pedophiles and other sexual predators. When in Maryland, you will never know who or what it is in the stall next to you.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.
Could be a hot chick in
September 15, 2008 - 13:20 ET by SickofLibsCould be a hot chick in wingtips or a construction worker in heels.
OK, now this is REALLY gonna
September 15, 2008 - 13:06 ET by SickofLibsOK, now this is REALLY gonna confuse Thomas Beattie if he ever visits Maryland.
Plus, I thought ABC had an exclusive on these dude/dudette stories...?
Ummm, dudes used the
September 15, 2008 - 13:10 ET by wiwfUmmm, dudes used the ladies' room plenty of times: Kindergarten and dares!
The Rocky Mountain Collegian: Illustrating Idiocy
Oh yeah - good times! I
September 15, 2008 - 13:17 ET by SickofLibsOh yeah - good times!
I remember as a young teenager sneaking a girl into a diner mens room - she was shocked, shocked I tell you, at the sight of a 'condominium' (yeah, she said it) dispenser on the wall.
There shouldn't be any hassle at the DMV for these people tho; if you check YES alongside the PENIS box on the card, you're male. That's it, no matter how cute of an outfit you're wearing.
Why have the Men/Women on
September 15, 2008 - 13:14 ET by ElyasWhy have the Men/Women on the restroom doors? They should just use big question marks and have people guess.
I already see perverts going out to buy a wig and skirt so they can hang out in the women's restroom.
Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying. - Ronald Reagan
Just don't...
September 15, 2008 - 13:15 ET by The DistributistJust don't expect me to hold any doors open for you, miss, er, mr, er, thing.
"Modern man is staggering and losing his balance because he is being pelted with little pieces of alleged fact which are native to the newspapers; and, if they turn out not to be facts, that is still more native to newspapers." -GK Chesterton
Hey, Hey
September 15, 2008 - 13:33 ET by NorthCoaster"Dude looks like a lady,
Hey, hey,
Dude looks like a lady,"
Lyrics courtesy Aerosmith.
This topic hits close to
September 15, 2008 - 13:45 ET by general companyThis topic hits close to home,,,,er well not that close to home.
So I work in the scientific field, and we do a lot of data mining. We collaborate with
dozens of universities across the country and world. We recently hired one of these data miners from another university. We acquire a lot of our folks this way because they are familiar with our project and we are usually familiar with them. This one particular "feller" has been to our site many times, most everyone new him, so when a position was available and he showed interest he was naturally given the fast track to our site. Just to be clear, it is sometime difficult to get folks in this field to move to Louisiana. So we were glade to have him, until. The day he arrived was a Monday the day we have our staff meeting, these are very informal and all visitors on site are encouraged to sit in. So our director is going through the weeks agenda and naming visitors and oh BTW we have a new staff member his name is --sonso, well he is looking around the room for sonso and low and behold sonso stands up dressed in drag and says he no longer goes by the name of sonso but now he has a female name. Needless to say we were all flabbergasted by this. My boss does not know what to do, can he fire him/she/it, should we ignore this? Their have been several items that have come up, first off, most of us feel that this was about as underhanded way of accepting a job, plus their is this bathroom problem, the woman do not want him in their, but he insist. He wears very strong perfume, even though several of us has asked him not to, he is suggestive in a female way that make me want to vomit .
Also it has come to our attention that he is still married to his wife, she is a US citizen, he is not. I dont get the hebijebies very often but this guy creeps me out. He has even corrected me a half a dozen times about referring to him as, well, a him. He even told my boss that he is thinking of asking about disciplinary action against me for this. I do not do it intentional, but referring to him as a she is dam near impossible.
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
GC,
September 15, 2008 - 14:28 ET by Wilbur747This hits close to home for me as well. There are two transg'd folks where I work. One was a woman, who became known as Spike, with surgery and all the bells and whistles and medicines (loads of pills) to boot. The other was a man who became a woman..mostly that is, he/she/it still has all the bells and whistles.
The problem we have is much the same as yours. Since we all knew them by their previous gender/name, we still use those names/terms and they get torqued off. Sorry but it's human nature.
I don't mean to sound "intolerant" or "bigoted", but if your kid went from John to Jane at 25 years of age, you'd still call him John out of habit.
I can't tell you how troublesome the bathroom situation is!
Yea, it will be pretty
September 15, 2008 - 15:38 ET by general companyYea, it will be pretty interesting if he actualy files a complant against me or anyone else. I havent a clue as to what the out come will be, but it will be very difficult for me to keep a straight face. I could honestly care less that he wants to be a she, but the way he wears it like a badge of honor and tries to come across as quite frankly a flirty girl is more then I can take at times. I am pretty laid back and so are my co-workers, and I and many others have tried to tone the nonesense down, but he seems to like to make the rest of us squirm. He hasnt finished his probation period, but in this sector it is almost impossable to get canned. I do not have to work closely with him at all, but to his benifit though, his data group realy thinks he is doing a great job. We shall see
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
That's Odd
September 16, 2008 - 08:19 ET by Zoe BrainIt's odd because he'd have to take testosterone, which doesn't come in an oral form. It requires an injection every fortnight.
And the full surgery for an FtoM transition costs on the order of $120,000, none of it covered by insurance. Independantly wealthy, is he?
This is as fishy as the list of books Palin was said to have banned, some of which were published after she left office.
Firing
September 16, 2008 - 07:49 ET by Zoe BrainCan she be summarily fired? Probably yes. She'd only be protected in 13 states, plus a number of counties and cities. It would be as legal as firing an African-American "passing for white" prior to 1964.
The medical Standards of Care - available online insist that anyone who needs surgery must live for at least a year in their target gender role before surgery is authorised. That means using the correct rest-rooms, and also maintaining employment while doing so.
The perfume issue should be discussed with her, so she can correct it. As for the pronoun issue, she should correct honest mistakes firmly but politely, and cut people some slack. But dishonest "deliberate mistakes" are grounds for a harassment complaint.
Feel free to contact me at aebrain@webone.com.au, and we'll see if we can get this process back on the rails with the least discomfort for everyone.
Zoe
September 16, 2008 - 10:31 ET by general companyWhile I understand perfectly what you are saying, nobody here is harassing him/her, quite the contrary. He/she is quite aggressive about bringing topics up about gendor and prefrances. We even have a Gay working here who is even more put out by him/her then most of us. We have all been overtly polite in making our request about perfume and conversation topics, as well as other items, and though the perfume issue is mostly resolve, he/she insist on making everyone feel uncomfortable when he/she is present.
He/she does not look, sound, move, or act like a woman in any way, he/she just wear's a dress and makeup. He/she doesnt even shave sometimes.
BTW their is no way I would ever think of involving anyone out side of our outfit. Even though I have complained quite a bit here, I have every confidence in our staff to handle the situation in a way to make everyone comfortable.
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Trans or just Obnoxious?
September 16, 2008 - 21:38 ET by Zoe BrainIf this is an attempt at Transition, it's going horribly wrong. From what you say, this looks more like a "Gender Outlaw", not a big deal in itself, but someone being deliberately obnoxious in the process.
Just in case, there are some online resources that may help.
Managing Transgender Transition in the Workplace is a good basic guide to the subject, both for the transitioner, the employer, and co-workers.
This set of FAQs is also useful.
I better add a disclaimer here. Technically I'm not Transsexual, but close enough. I'm actually Intersexed, but as my medical condition involves a natural change from a male appearance to a female one, the point is moot. Natural changes the other way, from female to male, due to 5alpha-reductase-2 deficiency (5alpha-RD-2) or 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-3 deficiency (17beta-HSD-3), are more common, but still only 1 in 40,000.
For the majority of such people as myself, that kind of rare Intersex condition cures Transsexuality - the feeling that the body you've been lumbered with is horribly wrong. "Girl trapped in a Boy body" really is close enough to the truth. For a minority though, it induces Transsexuality, and surgery and hormones to reverse the natural change is a medical emergency.( See Gender change in 46,XY persons with 5alpha-reductase-2 deficiency and 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-3 deficiency. by Cohen-Ketternis, but I digress)
The medical aspects, lymbic nucleus of the brain, BSTc layer of the hypothalamus that cause Transsexality is discussed (with references) at BiGender and the Brain. The short version - Intersex conditions exist, where people have bodies neither wholly male nor wholly female. One common variant - and there are hundreds of different conditions - leads to a masculinised brain in a feminised body, or the reverse. Often the people who are "Transsexual" have other, more obvious, Intersex conditions too, but not always.
Having a female set of emotions and hardwired instincts leads to developing a female gender identity, regardless of upbringing and body form. That is horribly uncomfortable if the body is male or mostly male, the hormonal balance is all wrong for the brain's cellular receptors, and suicidal ideation is common. The only cure is to align the body and its hormonal balance to match the brain. Always with hormones, and often with surgery too. That depends on the degree the hardwired body-image is affected. Both female and male Transsexuals exist, but it's the "men who turn into women" that garner the most publicity.
It's a medical issue, not a moral or religious one. Unfortunately, it's most often seen as the latter, as the topic isn't exactly common knowledge.
Correct me if I'm wrong...
September 15, 2008 - 14:11 ET by Wilbur747but wasn't there a provision in the bill that stated a person could enter a locker/restroom of the opposite sex based on their 'perception' or 'feeling' of which gender they were that day?
Corrected
September 16, 2008 - 08:09 ET by Zoe BrainNope.
I'll quote the legislation in question. It covers discrimination based on gender identity in provision of services in:
(1) restaurants, soda fountains, and other eating or drinking places,
and all places where food is sold for consumption either on or off the
premises;
(2) inns, hotels, and motels, whether serving temporary or permanent patrons;
(3) retail stores and service establishments;
(4) hospitals and clinics;
(5) motion picture, stage, and other theaters and music, concert, or meeting halls;
(6)
circuses, exhibitions, skating rinks, sports arenas and fields,
amusement or recreation parks, picnic grounds, fairs, bowling alleys,
golf courses, gymnasiums, shooting galleries, billiard and pool rooms, and swimming pools;
(7) public conveyances, such as automobiles, buses, taxicabs, trolleys, trains, limousines, boats, airplanes, and bicycles;
(8) utilities, such as water and sewer service, electricity, telephone, and cable television;
(9) streets, roads, sidewalks, other public rights-of-way, parking lots or garages, marinas, airports, and hangars; and
(10) places of public assembly and entertainment of every kind.
That's it.
That's sourced from the main opposition site, at http://www.notmyshow...
They hope you won't actually read it. They're behaving like Leftist Moonbats. You know, tell a big lie, repeat it, and hope nobody notices it's BS.
The Bathroom/Pervert stuff is as factual as Trig being Sarah Palin's Grandson. The legal situation before the legislation is that a man could legally enter a woman's restroom. But if he did so and committed any kind of lewd conduct, such as being a peeping-tom, he'd be committing an offense. This legal situation hasn't changed. What it does do is allow Intersexed, Transsexed, and odd-looking people to not get harassed. See for example Khadijah Farmer, who was ejected from a female restroom for looking too butch.
13 states and over 90 cities and counties have similar legislation in place, sometimes for over 30 years. Number of problems with cross-dressed perverts using the law as a defence - zero. In fact, there's only been 1 case of a cross-dressed pervert in a women's restroom. That was Portland, Oregon a few years ago, and of course he got arrested and convicted.
If the showernuts had any evidence, any examples, you think they wouldn't have adduced them? This is a smear campaign, just like MSM's treatment of Palin.
Typical
September 15, 2008 - 14:12 ET by DarasenAs is typical liberals look to the courts so a few people can try to outwiegh the the desires of general populace. Truly if liberal views are as mainstream as they try to portray themselves as why is it that they never want thier ideas subject to public vote?
try that in some of the bars up here
September 15, 2008 - 14:46 ET by wizardjrOver in Minnecrapolis they'd be welcomed with open arms so the dorks could be seen as progressive by their heroes in Manhatten.
However...
over here on the East Side the odds are a couple of the women would turn this sick-o into a true not-male for going into the girls' room.
I'm supposed to let some creep into the girls' room with my 7 and 8 year-old granddaughters???? I don't think so!
We have had some blood
September 15, 2008 - 15:52 ET by general companyWe have had some blood curtaling screams come from our womans bathroom on this guys account. We have many visitors here, including shcool children. Our trans guy doesnt understand ( he is from OR) that around here, he could be taking his health for granted.
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Code Pink?
September 15, 2008 - 17:51 ET by Sergeant ROCKIs this the guy/gal from Code Pink that was in the background during a speach a while back?
PALIN/McCain 2008
Which Bathroom to Use?
September 15, 2008 - 18:39 ET by Redrowan2000slippery slope
September 15, 2008 - 22:15 ET by WesenGet used to it. I received this email from a friend who is a Prof. This is how College teachers are being "trained".
"I cannot keep up with all the new gender issues. (For instance, I found out yesterday there are not only bi-sexuals, but poly- and omni-sexuals. (I don't know what the last two mean. Do you?) ASU has training for faculty to make us more aware of these issues. Here is some of what I need to know: Heterosexual "For example, a transgendered individual whose biological sex is male, who identifies as a female and who expresses a feminine gender role is considered a female. If this person—who identifies as a female and expresses a feminine gender role—is in a relationship with a man, then the relationship is considered heterosexual." (I'm confused.) One of the adjustments that I am to make is: "incorporating gender-neutral pronouns such as Ze (instead of he or she) and Hir (instead of him or her)." " (I had never heard of these pronouns! Have you?)
I only hope these transgenders with new hope...
September 16, 2008 - 02:09 ET by wnaegele...will wander into the WaPo newsroom and share the restrooms with the staff.
More bathrooms
September 16, 2008 - 11:24 ET by GWWell, they have Men's bathrooms and Women's bathrooms. And I've seen a bunch of "Family" bathrooms where mom can change her little baby boy's diaper.
Why not a Transgender bathroom?